Related articles

Chris, 70, who returns next week for the latest series of Extreme Railways, told Express.co.uk that while the trains in the UK may be more comfortable than some of the ones he has faced, they are also the worst.

He told how the day after he wrapped up filming the Channel 5 series in Japan, he had to go up to Manchester using a public train.

Telling how the services in the Asian nation were impeccably punctual, he was left stunned by the dismal service in the UK.

He said: “I came back from Japan where every train runs to the second and is on time.

Getty

Trains are often delayed in the UK

“I had to go to Manchester for a commercial, but when I went down to King’s Cross to catch the 6.05 train, it said it was 45 minutes late so wouldn’t arrive until 07.15 because of late running engineering works.

“It ended up being an hour and a half late. It would never happen in Japan, they’d be hanging from the trees.”

He said Brits too often excuse the poor service, saying to ourselves “oh, it’s only three quarters [of an hour] to wait.”

Many commuters using Southern’s service may be used to trains being cancelled thanks to strikes or adverse weather conditions, Chris told how other countries in the world keep calm and carry on.

Southern Fail: Commuters mock service in these hilarious tweets

15 of the funniest tweets from angry Southern commuters.

While sunlight and even drops of rain can derail a train in Britain, he said it takes a lot more for trains in the likes of Canada or Siberia to be stopped in their tracks.

He said: “We see trains survive avalanches, bear attacks and thick snow in Canada and Siberia. But the trains work and still get there.

“[Ours stop] when we have leaves on the line. If you said that in Canada, in the Rocky Mountains, they’d just laugh at you.”

And despite waiting for a train for six days in the Congo, and even travelling on a train in Cape Town where the doors flung wide open while travelling at 70mph, he still insists British rail services are terrible.